How many remote desktop licenses are needed?

A remote desktop license is required for each person that will connect to the server, regardless of how many user accounts there are on the server, or how many people will be concurrently connected to the server.

All versions of Windows Server come with two Administrator remote desktop licenses. These built-in licenses are for administration purposes only, and are not for general use by remote desktop users, nor should they be included when determining the total number of remote desktop licenses required for a server.

Below are various scenarios which may help clarify how to determine the correct number of remote desktop licenses a server will need.

Example 1: One person will be connecting to a remote desktop on the server.

A server with a single user can use a built-in Administrator remote desktop license. In this case, no additional remote desktop licenses are required, as this assumes the single remote desktop user is also the server administrator, even if utilising multiple user accounts on the server.

Example 2: Five people will need to connect to remote desktops on the server.

Even if only two of the five people will ever be connected to the server at the same time, a license is required for each person, so five remote desktop licenses will still be required.

Example 3: Three people will be connecting to remote desktops the server.

They each have multiple user accounts on the server, and may log in to any one of their multiple accounts on the server at any given time. There are still only three people in total that will be connecting to the server, so just three remote desktop licenses will be required.

Example 4: A VPS with the Application Management level of support will have eight people connecting to remote desktops on the server.

Mammoth Cloud staff will use one of the two built-in Administrator licenses for their intended purpose of performing administrative tasks on the server. This means that eight remote desktop licenses will be required.

Remote desktop licenses are available on Windows Server VPS subscriptions for $10 per remote desktop user license, per month.

Remote desktop licenses can be purchased during signup within the server configuration options, or at any time afterwards by using the VPS' change plan page in mPanel.

The number of remote desktop licenses for a VPS subscription can be increased or decreased at any time, using the VPS' change plan page.